Laverda is a company that went through some pretty distinctive periods; from being family owned through the mid 1980s to the various government, corporate and investment teams that brought it back to life, to the Aprilia-owned years that saw its eventual demise. But it is the latter half of the ownership story that interests us…
The Laverda 750S Formula was a massive gamble to revive a long a storied (but sinking) brand. This excerpt from an earlier post on a similar bike is being utilized by the seller of today’s find in the advert – but only partially. In the spirit of completeness (and to be lazy), I reprint it…
The MV Agusta F4 750S was the mass production model of the ultra rare Oro Edition – the model that re-launched MV Agusta into the mainstream market. Designed by Massimo Tamburini and the CRC design center, the F4 was – in many ways – what the Ducati 999 should have been. It is an evolution…
As Laverda rose from the ashes of the 1970s, they saw Ducati as a natural rival, inspiration, and target. Yes, I know that Laverda continued to produce new motorcycles into the 1980s, but those were just 1970s engines wrapped in new clothes, a pattern that would continue when the company was reborn in the 1990s……
These days, Moto Guzzi “sportbikes” really need the quotation marks I’ve included here. Ducati managed to develop their signature 90° v-twin format and stay competitive among the current crop of tech-heavy rockets, but it’s unlikely that, even given a pretty large budget to attempt something like that, Guzzi could have stayed true to their longitudinal…
When a mid-nineties Ducati just ain’t cutting it as far as style, panache, build sheet, rarity and dubious build quality are concerned, it’s hard to do better than a contemporary Laverda. Sure, you could go Bimota and snag Japanese reliability with the sex appeal only Italy can muster, but you couldn’t be too much more…
While there is no guaranteed formula for success in the motorcycling business, there are some pretty basic tenets worth following. The first is to start with a decent brand name and reputation. Laverda – building performance motorcycles since 1949 – fits that bill perfectly. The second rule is that the bike has to look good;…
Update 11.29.2015 – This one originally sold back in June of last year in Alabama. Since then it has been listed multiple times on eBay but now the seller has decided to price is right about where it was last year (sold in June 2014 for $3,334.99, current bid is $3,444.00). Only 20 hours left…